The WRONG woman
by stevieLUVSAlex
Summary: It's in the title... I'm making season 6 the way it SHOULD be! I promise, you will enjoy it... have I disappinted you before... no, dont answer that! LOL... rated T for one bad swear.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I saw the preview for Bones 2011 and this idea sprung, I will mention nothing else, in case someone hasn't seen it, or has another opinion… this is MY take on how it SHOULD go… when it comes back. =)_

Hannah wasn't home when Booth walked through the door. He felt guilty, that he was relieved to know that. But just having behaved like a class A jerk to his partner in the car, he couldn't stand the idea of having to look at Hannah and lie straight out when she asked him what the matter was. He wasn't even sure he could muster enough strength to tell a lie. His behavior towards _Bones_ was unforgivable… the way he had spoken to her… the way he had told her how much Hannah meant to him. He was lying, that was the only thing he understood when he walked away from her, because he knew as much as he tried to fight it, Hannah _was_ a consolation prize… she was the cliché of rebound. He wasn't even sure he loved her, and if he did, it wasn't enough, it certainly wasn't with the same overwhelming emotion he had for _Bones_.

Booth wondered through the house, and towards his bedroom. With effort, he approached the cupboard and opened it, pulling down a shoebox he had stored there once upon a time. It was the same shoebox that once held _Jasper_ and _Brainy Smurf_. It bounced on the ground, and Booth lowered himself to the floor, his knees resting on the soft plush carpet.

It took him considerable effort to take the lid off the shoebox, revealing many small items, among them was a velvet box. He took it in his hand, and held it examining the outside, as if it held some secret to the universe. Finally, he flipped the lid to expose to a clear-cut diamond ring. He ran his trembling fingers over it with caution, a sadness crossing his eyes as he did so.

_What the hell was I thinking?_

He snapped the lid shut and shoved it back in the box. Unable to stand being in the room anymore, as if it was now tainted, he made his way through to the kitchen. He was sure he had a bottle of Scotch stashed somewhere…

… … … … … … …

For days Booth had barely spoken. It wasn't just Hannah who received the silent treatment. It was everyone that approached him. His attitude was the same with Rebecca, the only one he really made effort for was Parker, once, over the phone, and even then his facial expressions spoke volumes. The guilt over his behavior with _Bones_, had left him devastated, but no one had pieced that together yet.

Hannah had been working late most nights, working on a paper, and Booth was usually asleep when she came home, purposely most of the time.

But this particular night Booth had been watching Hockey on the sport channel and drinking Scotch, as he had for the last week, Hannah realized. She had tried talking to him that night, about her work, but he had blown her off with a simple hand gesture. He wasn't interested.

She'd stormed off to the bedroom, to sulk, when she saw the shoebox left carelessly on the ground. "Seeley…" she muttered under her breath. "Do I have to pick up after you, as well," she complained to herself as she knelt down to retrieve it.

She opened the shoebox, curious to what lay inside, intending only to look at it briefly, but her eyes instantly settled on the photo of him with Temperance, he was smiling at her, his eyes sparkled with what could only be described as magic. Her heart sank. He'd been looking at pictures of his partner.

He had assured her time and time again, that what relationship they had was completely platonic.

Hannah was not convinced.

She eyed the velvet box, and took it in her hands her tears filling her eyes as she snapped open the lid, to reveal what she already knew deep in her heart.

She stood from the floor, the box gripped in her hand as she made her way out into the loungeroom, where Booth sat perched on the recliner.

… … … …. …

Hannah's shadow fell over him, and he looked up, reluctantly, intending to tell her to get out of the way, before returning to his Hockey game. But he saw what lay in her hand, and his eyes looked up to meet hers.

"You were gonna propose?" she asked stunning him with her words.

Booth could only stare at her.

_Well, that was different… what do you reckon, is it worth a review? =)_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Yes, I was rather nasty leaving the last chapter on a cliff-hanger that way, huh? I haven't done it in a while though, and I must say it felt good. =) Hahaha. As for those interested in the preview… sorry, I didn't find it, it found me. I didn't even want it. It was on the TV commercial. Alright, next chapter… signed, sealed, delivered… read on!_

_You were gonna propose?" she asked, stunning him with her words._

_Booth could only stare at her. _

"I don't…" he couldn't find his voice.

"You were going to propose to HER?" she snapped, her voice suddenly rising to hysterical.

Booth felt his chest tighten, and he dropped the glass on the table beside him, before standing from the recliner, unsteadily, to say the least.

Hannah laughed bitterly. "Look at you. You can't even stand up straight. What happened to you Seeley, the past week you've been mental or something… slipped off the radar… have you been takin' too many hopping pills?" she baited him.

Booth rolled his eyes.

"What were you doing going through the box, Hannah?" he challenged.

"It was left on the ground," she snapped. "I'm sure that if you were trying desperately to hide it from me, you would have stashed it somewhere else, and not left it in plain view for me to find, would you?" she demanded.

Booth had nothing to say to that.

"You told me, that you and Temperance have never been in a relationship that was not strictly work-related!' she barked. "That's what you said!"

"It's true," he said regretfully. _No, matter how much I wanted more…_

"You can't fool me, Seeley!" she shook her head. "I'm not an average blonde bimbo, despite what you think."

"I never said you were," he protested.

"Then stop treating me like one!" she roared.

Booth winced. He felt a headache come on.

"Why would you lie about it?" she asked.

"I didn't," he replied.

"You have a RING!" she said waving it under his nose.

He winced again, but this time it wasn't from the headache.

"Explain this!" she demanded.

He pretended to be hurt. "What if I said the ring was for you…" he challenged.

Hannah's face dropped. "It was?" she whispered.

Booth only shrugged, not really answering the question. It was easier for her to believe that, than for him to admit the truth.

"Oh," she sighed. She lowered her head in embarrassment, and when she looked up at him again, a look of confusion was painted on her pale face. "I can't."

"What?" he frowned.

"I can't marry you, Seeley."

_I didn't ask you to_. "Why?" he asked for his own amusement.

"I move away. I don't stay in one place, you know that. I love you, Seeley, I do… but, you won't follow me, I know that. Your work is here, and mine is out there, I'm not going to pretend that if an opportunity arises, I won't take it," she admitted. "This is how I am."

"So what are we doing then?" he asked annoyed that it had come to this now, when Booth had said all of those things to _Bones_ in the car, believing that at least Hannah was none the wiser about his false I'm-over-Bones certainty.

"Having fun," she shrugged.

"Yeah," he shook his head and picked up his glass from the coffee table, taking a swig. "That doesn't work for me. I don't do fun, Hannah. I think this was a mistake…"

"Don't make it sound like you didn't enjoy it," she looked hurt.

_What was the point? _He hadn't bothered to spare _Bones'_ feelings, why should he stop now. "I…" he stopped himself. He didn't need to hurt her, it wasn't him, it wasn't the man he wanted to be, no matter what his heart was feeling, his mood was his issue, not Hannah's. "I have to go…"

He stopped at Hannah, and reached out to take the ring from her hands. "Goodbye, Hannah… I hope you're happy with your work. Maybe you'll find someone who wants the same things that you do." he leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek. She had been his friend, if nothing else.

Without another word, he shoved the ring in his pocket and walked out of his own apartment.

_YAY! Can I get a GLUG, GLUG, WOO HOO on the fact that Hannah is officially WIPED from my story… and that's the way the cookie crumbles… uh hu, yeah baby! Yeah, I'm smoking somethin' heavy, not sure what, or how it's taken… but I def got something strange happening to me. Think it might be lack of sleep… too much FF to write, thanks to STUPID HEAD HART… hahahaha! =)_

_Yeah, if I haven't already made you want to pull your hair out with my author rant, leave a review if you want… or not *shrugs* I'll still love you. _


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: LAST CHAPTER! Are you really shocked, it's me, I am NOT surprising, I am predictable… no that's not true. People are usually eager to see what I do or say next… BOO… did you see that comin' hahahaha. Still smokin' it, I think. =)_

_FLUFFY ending!_

Booth approached _Bones'_ apartment with a tightness in his chest. He was half expecting her to answer the door with a gun aimed at his head, and he wouldn't have blamed her, after the way he treated her. He knocked on the door and stood back, waiting to hear the sound of footsteps approaching, but when he heard nothing, he stepped forward a knocked again, louder this time.

He checked his watch. It wasn't particularly late. He assumed, she was writing in her office, working on one of her novels.

_Maybe Kathy just shot Ryan_, he thought. _Ryan would have deserved it._

He sighed heavily, when nobody came to answer the door, and he turned to leave, only to see her standing on the bottom of the stairs, looking up at him.

"Bones," he breathed. "Hey…"

_Bones_ stared at him.

"How you are you, Bones?" _Geez, Seeley, you can do better than that!_

"I'm fine," she shrugged. "What do you want Booth?"

"Can we talk?"

_Bones_ shook her head. "I don't think so," she said. "I think I heard everything I needed to hear in the car, thank you."

His chest tightened at the mention of what he had done to her.

"Please," he winced in pain.

Bones shook her head, more to herself than to him, before she made her way up the stairs, and opened the door. She swung it open and stepped aside, gesturing for Booth to go through.

"Thanks," he muttered as he passed her, stepping into the hallway.

_Bones_ closed the door behind her, still saying nothing. She led him into the loungeroom, and flopped down on her leather couch. Booth took up residence beside her, careful not to move too invade her personal space.

"I'm really sorry," he started. "For everything I said in the car the other week, I was a jerk…"

"Yeah, you were," she agreed readily.

"Bones come on…" he pleaded.

"I'm not going to pretend that your words didn't affect me, Booth. Your behavior was inexcusable," she stated in that matter-of-fact way she did.

"I know," he nodded.

"You don't know," she snapped. "You hurt me…"

"I know…"

"Stop saying that!" she warned.

"I'm sorry."

"And don't say that either," she barked standing up from the couch, and pacing the room. "There's no excuse for what you did, you can't justify it. I'll never forget what you said, Booth, as much as I want to…" and she did want to forget, it was written all over her face.

Booth nodded, afraid to say anything. Finally, he found his voice. "I understand that. I have to earn back the trust I broke. But will you listen first…" he pleaded. He had something to say, and he needed her to keep an open mind.

"Fine, what?" she shrugged.

He looked away from her, as he told his story, and he stood pacing the room, as she took her seat back on the couch. "We'd been gazing at stars on the bonnet of the car, and I don't know if we were talking about the future, or if I was just thinking about it. But I pictured you, Bones… you and me, the way it should be, and I don't know why, but I brought you a ring, and before I knew it, I was in Afghanistan wondering what the hell had happened to my life," he finished quietly.

It took _Bones_ a moment to respond.

"I don't know what that means."

"Hannah found the ring… I couldn't lie to her anymore, I didn't want to."

"You really had a ring?" she asked meeting his eyes, hers filled with tears.

He fished in his pocket and pulled out the velvet box, snapping the lid open to reveal the engagement ring. "I really did, Bones."

With his free hand, he reached out and gently stroked her cheek. She flinched evidently, and pulled away. Booth dropped his hand into his lap. "You bastard," she whispered angrily.

"I love you, Bones," he said. "Always have… always will."

Her heart seemed to break with his words, as the tears spilled from her eyes. "How am I supposed to trust you now?" she asked.

Booth thought about it. "Despite my behavior I never left you, Bones. I was always here, watching over you from a distance."

"I didn't need you for that," she stated. _Bones_ had always been able to take care of herself, she was stronger than any other woman he knew, she had a black belt, among that wall of protection she had built for herself, the one he had managed to break down.

"How did you need me then?" he challenged forcing her chin up with his finger, his eyes locking on hers in a desperation to break down her barrier yet again.

"I just did," she shrugged unable to form the words to explain it.

"I'm here…" he assured her. "I'm really here this time. You have me, Bones, you always have."

Bones hesitated.

"What?" he asked desperate to know what she was thinking.

"What if you change your mind again?" she questioned.

"I never changed my mind, Bones, just my attitude. I ain't goin' anywhere, ever again… here," he placed the velvet box in the palm of her hand. "I know your views on marriage, but if I can get you to believe in love, then hopes not lost yet, and you can hold on to that until you say yes."

"Who said I loved you…" she smiled.

"You did," he grinned.

"When?" she frowned.

"Just now…" he laughed pulling at her shirt and guiding her to him for a kiss.

_Fluffiness… LOVE… awwwww moments… I don't know about you, but I thought that was rather sweet… =) xo _

_Thank you very much for reading… I hope it was worth it. HH… __**TAKE A HINT!**_


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